Hi friends, family, and anyone who is reading this story. On July 24th in the early morning, my father, Raul Raagas, was driving to work when he was stopped and arrested by ICE and transferred to 604-634 Freylinhausen Ave in Newark, an ICE detention facility. Since then, he has been transferred to the CoreCivic Elizabeth Detention Center in Newark. We demand that he be released immediately so he can come home to his family. Who is Raul? Raul(63) is a Filipino migrant, father, husband, and taxpayer from Cebu City who migrated to the US from Manila. He attended Far Eastern University for a Bachelor of Science in Commerce Management. Wanting to live out his dreams to travel and run in world-famous marathons, he flew to San Francisco in March of 1993 on an athletic visa to run a marathon with friends. They all decided to stay and look for work. He went on to work in Delano, CA as a farmhand and eventually moved to Jersey City, NJ in the late 90s, where he met his wife, Janet. He worked as a cab driver and began working in Waste Management in 2004. He left WM and had a brief stint as an Uber Eats delivery biker before finding work with Interstate Waste Services (IWS) in Fort Lee/Northern NJ around 2012-2013. He is a member of NATSU Local 741 for waste management laborers. Raul lives in Jersey City with his wife, Janet, and two children. Anyone who knows him knows how kind and strong a person he is. He's always there when you need him, and he's always there to listen. He's a role model to my sister and me, and he has shaped the way that I work and use discipline. It hurts my heart every hour he is not home. We need him here; we can't rest without knowing that he's okay. Before my father was detained, he was the sole breadwinner of the family. Our family was sustained by the combined income of 3 people, split between my father, my mother, and me. Because of ICE, we now have to go into survival mode to make ends meet. So if you can donate or spread this GoFundMe around, it would be deeply appreciated. What will your donations go towards? The money raised here will be used to help us pay our rent, groceries, car payments, and other bills for the foreseeable future, as well as any payments needed on the legal end of things. Attorney fees, filing fees, administrative fees, etc. Note that we may be able to have help from a pro bono lawyer, and if so, that will be stated under the Updates section.
Campaign published: 7/25/2026. Organizer's listed location: Jersey City, NJ.